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July 16, 2008

.Me and .Pro Domains to Go on Sale

Beginning tomorrow (July 17), GoDaddy will offer .me domains in open registration. The registrar and hosting provider hopes that people will sign up for two reasons: 1. to have their own name as their domain and 2. to have more control over their email address.

"'I want my name as a domain name' is something I hear often from Internet users," said GoDaddy.com CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. "DotME not only gives everyone a chance to register their own name, but provides the perfect domain for expressing themselves."

Next Monday, July 21 at 12pm EST, Encirca will sell .pro domains (pdf) as part of the relaunch of the extension. Only licensed professionals can register .pro domains.

"We enthusiastically support the re-launch of dot-pro," says Thomas Barrett, President of EnCirca, the leading dot-pro registrar. "These long overdue changes will open the door for businesses representing over 1,100 licensed professions, from every country in the world, to establish their Internet brand identity with the .pro domain name."

Previously, the .pro domain was only available for four types of professionals in four countries, but now the domain is available to many more professions in hundreds of countries. Examples of eligible licensed professionals include:

  • Lawyers
  • Accountants
  • Engineers
  • Architects
  • Surveyors
  • Doctors
  • Dentists
  • Chiropractors
  • Nurses
  • Opticians
  • Optometrists
  • Podiatrists
  • Psychologists
  • Therapists
  • Social Workers
  • Veterinarians
  • Plumbers
  • Inspectors
  • Building Contractors
  • Electricians
  • Investment Advisors
  • Real Estate Brokers
  • Insurance Brokers
  • Educators
  • Patent and Trademark Examiners
  • Court Reporters
  • Police and Fire Safety Officers
  • any other profession where an official credential is required for a business or individual to offer services

Before you make those all important domain purchases, be sure to brief yourself on the impact of domain names on SEO:
How to Choose the Best Domains for Search Engine Visibility
What's in a (Domain) Name? Take 2
Is The Company Worth As Much As The Domain Name?

Posted by Nathania Johnson at July 16, 2008 11:56 AM

Comments

You didn't mention what the registration costs are for these extensions. Anyone know?

Posted by: Steve at July 16, 2008 12:32 PM

@Steve, GoDaddy is offering .me domains at £9.98/year. All the good names were taken :-(

Posted by: andymurd at July 17, 2008 11:21 AM

All the good names we're not taken! I just picked up hug.me!!!! I am so happy, I could just hug everyone!

I can't believe it was still available! kiss.me was gone.

Posted by: garry at July 17, 2008 12:18 PM

I just bought insure.me today! :D

Posted by: Pinoy Pro Blogger at July 17, 2008 12:46 PM

You only think you bought those names.... you will likely get an email later on from Godaddy explaining that your domain was already taken. I got one three letter domain and that was it.

It said I had quiz.me,ping.me,bang.me,crank.me,jerk.me, etc.... but I got none.

Posted by: dummy at July 17, 2008 4:33 PM

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